Grantee Partner News

On March 7, 2023, Global Press, a long-time Channel partner, published a groundbreaking report in partnership with Media Impact Funders entitled Unlocking U.S. Audience Demand for International News which describes U.S. audience demand for international journalism and provides recommendations for funders who care about supporting public interest media around the world.

On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a public hearing on the widespread sexual violence directed against women and girls in Haiti in response to  joint request by many advocacy groups working in Haiti including longtime Channel partners, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux/Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (BAI/IJDH).

On Feb. 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria.  As per a CNN live report from a week later, more than 36,000 people were killed and tens of thousands injured by the massive earthquake.

Several prominent voices in the press addressing the protests in Iran that began in September 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody have been long-time Channel partners including Mahnaz Afkhami, Founder of Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP), and Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, MBE, Founder and CEO of International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN).

Christine Ahn, Founder and Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ, a long-time Channel partner, received the 2022 Peace Summit Medal for Social Activism, which is awarded every year during the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates to a human rights activist in recognition of the positive impact of social activism generated in communities throughout the world.  

On Dec. 5, 2022, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented the 2022 Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards at Georgetown University to five women doing extraordinary work to address sexual violence in conflict zones and encourage women’s meaningful participation in recovery and peace processes. 

Several Channel grantee partners are addressing the impacts of the war in Ukraine on women, in particular by providing support in the areas of reproductive health and gender-based violence. 

FemFund, the Polish women’s fund and a new Channel grantee as of early 2022, released a report on the current state of feminist organizing in Poland The Feminist Fund Report: Where There Is Oppression, There Is Resistance! in November 2022.

On October 26, 2022, the Committee of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Again Women (or CEDAW) adopted a General Recommendation (39) on Indigenous Women and Girls.

The 4W Initiative of University of Wisconsin – Madison recognized and honored two leaders, Jensine Larsen and Bendettah Muthina Thomas, with the UNESCO Chair Award – Promoting Gender Equity, Wellbeing and a Culture of Peace, at an event on October 14, 2022.

In light of the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crises Afghan women face, the Women’s Regional Network (WRN) recently convened The Afghan/Canadian Women’s Symposium: Building a Better Future Together, Sept. 26 and 27, 2022, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Channel grantee partner Mina’s List has posted a call with information about the Afghan Adjustment Act, a bipartisan bill that, if passed by Congress, would create a path to permanent legal status for Afghans evacuated to the United States.

The Online News Association (ONA) announced on September 15, 2022, that Manori Wijesekera of Global Press is the winner of the 2022 ONA Community Award.  Global Press has been a Channel grantee partner since 2010. 

Representatives of the Mongolian Women’s Fund (MONES), a Channel grantee partner since 2007, participated in the 82nd CEDAW Session (June 13, 2022 – July 1, 2022) in Geneva, Switzerland and helped ensure that the concerns of women from Mongolian civil society were included in the CEDAW Committee’s Concluding Observations to the official government delegation of Mongolia.  

One World Media recognized longtime Channel grantee partner Global Press with a One World Media Award at an event on June 16, 2022. The awards celebrate “the media’s best coverage of the global south, spotlighting underreported stories that break stereotypes, change the narrative and connect people across cultures.” 

Indigenous women’s groups and their allies including several Channel grantee partners (the International Indigenous Women’s Forum or FIMI, JASS, and WHRI) have been waging an advocacy campaign for several years for a General Recommendation (GR) on Indigenous women and girls.

As part of their 2022 Human Rights Defenders at Risk Awards, Channel partner Front Line Defenders (FLD) recognized awardees from Afghanistan, Mexico, Sudan and Zimbabwe working on human rights issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace, forced and child marriage, forced disappearances, and Indigenous rights.

On May 25, 2022, the Goldman Environmental Prize honored Alex Lucitante and Alexandra Narvaez, grantees of Channel partners Global Greengrants and Cultural Survival.

On May 19, 2022, the Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative (known as IM-Defensoras) released a book, “Between Fresh Water and the Tides” – the first of several publications to share what they have learned from their work over the past decade, especially in relation to Feminist Holistic Protection (FHP).  

On May 3, 2022, Channel partner Global Press (GP) was recognized as part of Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards. More specifically, GP’s Duty of Care program was honored. 

On April 26, 2022, Peace Direct published a report, “Race, Power, and Peacebuilding” in collaboration with Channel grantee partner the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) as well as the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY).

Since 2007, Channel partner the Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) has been working on collective land issues with L’Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM) and the Soulaliyates, rural tribal women in Morocco. Over the years, this collaboration has resulted in advocacy campaigns, communications workshops, provincial and national land reforms, and more.  

In April 2022, The Guardian highlighted Channel partner the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) in an article on their work to win justice for women and girls who have been raped and experienced other forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Channel partner ELAS+, the Brazilian women’s fund, hosted a livestream on March 23, 2022 where they launched a unique and vital research report, “Activism and Pandemic in Brazil.”

In March 2022, Channel partner DAWN released the year’s first “DAWN Informs,” a periodical publication highlighting the organization’s latest analyses, critiques, and commentaries. This edition was titled “Feminist Challenges in a Digital World.”

To stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, particularly the women being forced to flee and activists taking on the role of humanitarian responders, consider supporting some of Channel’s longtime partners who are set up to get funds directly to grassroots groups on the ground and are actively engaging in advocacy around ending this war. 

Channel partner OutRight Action International launched LBQ Connect, a global feminist program aimed at lifting up supporting, and highlighting lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) activism around the world. 

On January 31, 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council held Haiti’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as an evaluation of the country’s human rights compliance. The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), long-time Channel grantee partner, responded to this UPR in a couple webinars.

In January 2022, Channel partner Front Line Defenders (FLD) released a report featuring accounts from women human rights defenders (WHRDs) on the impact of ongoing Pegasus spyware attacks.

In January 2022, Channel partner OutRight Action International, along with Human Rights Watch, published a report on increased threats to LGBT people in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. In February 2022, OutRight partnered with the group IraQueer to release a similar report on the lives of queer women in Iraq.

On February 21, 2022, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled to expand the rights of women and girls to obtain safe, legal abortions. This ruling represents a clumination of over 15 years of work by Channel partner Women’s Link Worldwide and local partners in the region. 

The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) launched the Disability Justice Project (DJP) on February 7, 2022 in partnership with journalism educator and human rights filmmaker Judy Santos and other nationally recognized media makers.

On January 24, 2022, Guatemala’s highest court convicted five men for the rape of 36 Indigenous Maya Achi women during the height of the country’s civil war in the 1980s. This landmark victory comes as a result of mobilizing by the women affected with the support of Channel partner the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR.

On December 17, 2021, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that Guatemala was in violation of the rights to freedom of expression of Indigenous peoples. Channel partner Cultural Survival held a press conference to clarify the importance of this ruling and celebrate.

On June 24, 2021, Article 7, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace (SHW), was approved without any revisions by the Mongolian Parliament as part of a revised version of the country’s Labor Law, marking a major win for long time Channel grantee partner the Mongolian Women’s Fund (or MONES).

Recognizing a need to be more inclusive of women with disabilities, Channel partner World Pulse invited fellow grantees Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and Women Enabled International (WEI) to engage with them through an initiative aimed at inclusive excellence starting in 2020.  

In December 2021, Channel partners Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), along with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), Kvinna till Kvinna, and MADRE, prepared “Fund Us Like You Want Us to Win,” a background paper highlighting the structural challenges to feminist and impactful financing for peacebuilding.

In late 2021, Channel partner FRIDA Young Feminist Fund published a holistic reflection on their work in climate and environmental justice over the past three years in a report, “What the Water Brings.”

In a June 2021 article for Channel partner Global Press Institute, reporter Khorloo Khukhnokhoi brought attention to the practice of virginity testing on teenage girls in Mongolian schools. In November 2021, Mongolia’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education issued a joint regulation making the practice punishable.

Julienne Lusenge, the founder of multiple organizations working to combat sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was awarded the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity on Oct. 9, 2021.

The Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR) recently announced the Legal Empowerment Fund, a bold new initiative with the aim of closing the global justice gap.

If you wish to show #SolidaritywithAfghanWomen and to #StandwithAfghanWomen, consider getting direct support to them as well as signing on to various advocacy efforts pushing to ensure a swift passage to safety for them.

Channel partner Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) recently partnered with Third World Network (TWN) to launch the Feminists for a People’s Vaccine campaign, which challanges major inequalities in access to medicines.

On July 21, 2021, the US Senate confirmed Bonnie Jenkins, Founder and former Executive Director of Channel grantee partner Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS), as Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

On June 25, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his appointment of Jessica Stern, the Executive Director of Channel grantee partner OutRight Action International (OutRight), to be the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the Department of State.

A powerful report, “Time to Decolonize Aid,” which calls on international aid organizations to decolonize aid and tackle structural racism head-on was published on May 10, 2021.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Channel partner Purposeful and others set up the Global Resilience Fund to provide resources to young women and girl groups organizing in response. A year later, Purposeful released a report highlighting the voices and perspectives of these feminist activists.

World Pulse, a long-time Channel grantee partner, published an in-depth collection of data-driven insights, personal narratives, and visionary solutions in the #SheTransformsTech report (April 2021).

Channel grantee partner Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and MADRE released a Practice Note in March 2021 which traces their efforts on merging women’s rights and disability rights movements through an innovative two-year partnership.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, 2021, Vida Afrolatina, Channel Foundation’s newest grantee partner, announced the first four grantees of their pilot grant cycle.

On Dec 30, 2020, Argentina legalized free and safe abortion in a landmark win for reproductive justice activists including Channel grantee partners inroads, RESURJ, and FRIDA. Former Channel grantee partner Ipas was also involved in the effort. 

A February 2021 report released by Korea Peace Now! — a global coalition of women’s peace organizations — and co-written by Christine Ahn, co-founder of Channel grantee partner Women Cross DMZ (WCDMZ), explores how a peace-first approach can resolve the security crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

In January 2021, Protection International published “Redefining the Risk Approach” in collaboration with Channel partners Women Link Worldwide, Front Line Defenders, and the Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative (known as IM-Defensoras).

The Leading from the South (LFS) initiative, developed by Channel grantee partner the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) and the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Fondo Mujeres del Sur (FMS) and Women’s Fund Asia (WFA), has received five additional years of funding from the Dutch government.

The Board of Directors of the US Peace Memorial Foundation unanimously voted to award the 2020 US Peace Prize to Channel grantee partner Women Cross DMZ (WCDMZ) Co-Founder, Christine Ahn, for her “bold activism to end the Korean War, heal its wounds, and promote women’s roles in building peace.”

Channel grantee partner, Women Cross DMZ (WCDMZ), announced a Feminist Peace Initiative in partnership with Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and MADRE. The Initiative dramatically reimagines US foreign policy by building on intersectional feminist principles.

Tiffany Brar, a member and vocal contributor to Channel grantee partner World Pulse’s online digital community, received the prestigious Holman Prize in 2020.  Brar is the first Indian to receive the award.

Channel partner Conectas launched the 30th issue of its Sur International Journal of Human Rights in August 2020. The objective of Sur 30 is to look at human rights defenders from a different perspective – to celebrate defenders’ victories (and not the challenges they face) by focusing on the paths they have taken.

In July 2020, Channel grantee partner Front Line Defenders (FLD) launched Cypher (@cypher_comics on Instagram), a digital comics magazine that advances the organization’s storytelling and narrative framing work in collaboration with and in support of human rights defenders (HRDs).

Channel grantee partner Mama Cash and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice launched a report on June 23, 2020 which showcases LBQ activists’ work and their current lack of resources, making a powerful case for why greater and more effective funding is needed.

On May 21, 2020, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) launched a report alongside more than 50 leading humanitarian, foreign policy, and women’s rights groups including Channel grantee partners Global Fund for Women (GFW), the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), and Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights (UAF).

On June 18, 2020, Channel grantee partner Cultural Survival launched a mapping project (see map below) to document and disseminate data that illustrates the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Peoples and communities as part their broader effort to respond to the growing crisis with a holistic, multi-layered approach.

Channel new grantee OutRight Action International is responding quickly to COVID-19 and has launched a new emergency fund and a new report on the particular vulnerabilities of LGBTIQ people during the coronavirus crisis.

Channel’s longest term grantee partner, Global Fund for Women (GFW) and two-time academy award-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy partnered to create Fundamental–-a documentary film series about feminist grassroots movements and community leaders across the world.

On March 12th, 2020, Mary Lawlor, the founder of long-time Channel grantee partner Front Line Defenders (FLD), was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

Channel grantee Just Associates (JASS) launched a new 5-module toolkit for women activists and defenders everywhere: Our Rights, Our Safety: Resources for Women Human Rights Defenders. 

Channel grantee partner, the Fund for Global Human Rights, in collaboration with JustLabs, published a new learning paper on narrative strategies for human rights funders, activists and civil society.

On September 25th, 2019, abortion was decriminalized in the state of Oaxaca. Channel grantee partner, Consorcio Oaxaca, played a key role in the process.

In a groundbreaking case, Channel grantee partner, Women’s Link Worldwide (WLW), successfully advocated on behalf of their client Helena* in Colombia. During the armed conflict in Colombia, the FARC guerrilla group recruited 14-year-old Helena and forced her to use contraceptives and have an abortion in inhumane conditions.

Channel grantee partner, Association For Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), published their new report, “Toward A Feminist Funding Ecosystem.” The report explores what it would take to create a world where feminist movements were abundantly resourced.

On June 12th, 2019, Channel grantee partner, the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) received InterAction’s 2019 Disability Inclusion Award. Founded in 1984, InterAction is the largest alliance of international NGOs and partners in the United States.

On June 25th, 2019 Disability Rights Fund (DRF) released their “1 in 5” report which features women with disabilities sharing the impact DRF’s funding has had on them.

On June 21, 2019 in Geneva, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted a landmark international agreement banning gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace.

Channel grantee partners FRIDA and AWID, as well as The Defensoras, are three of five case studies featured in From a “Culture of Unwellness” to Sustainable Advocacy: Organizational Responses to Mental Health Risks in the Human Rights Field.

In June 2019, Channel grantee partner World Pulse released a report on Women, Peace and Security. The report is a culmination of crowdsourced stories, experiences, and expertise of women across the world that are democratizing peacebuilding and security efforts.

On May 17th, 2019 Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice announced the release of their top ten Feminist Funding Principles. The principles share what Astraea has learned over the last four decades about what it takes to support activists on the front lines to make enduring social change.

On June 2nd, 2019 the Canadian government announced a $300 million multi-year award partnership with The Equality Fund.

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy released Women’s Foundations and Funds: a Landscape Study on May 14th, 2019 with updated data and expanded scope looking at the world of women’s philanthropy.

On March 14th, 2019, Channel grantee partners Women Cross DMZ (WCDMZ) and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) officially launched the Korea Peace Now! Women Mobilizing to End the War campaign to end the war on the Korean Peninsula.

On September 26, 2018, Joan Carling, a member of the Board of Channel grantee the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (or FIMI), has been awarded the prestigious Champions of the Earth Award for her lifetime achievements defending the environment and indigenous rights.

On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court of India made the ground breaking decision to decriminalize homosexuality after a 24-year struggle by activists. Channel partner CREA played a key role in this struggle as a founding member of Voices Against 377, a coalition of human rights, women’s rights, queer rights, and child rights groups based in Delhi.

In wake of worsening violence against human rights defenders, Channel grantee partners Just Associates (JASS) and the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR) collaborated to create a “Power and Protection” multimedia resource page that provides insights from dialogues with activists, NGOs and donors from around the world.

Channel grantee partners Women Cross DMZ and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, in collaboration with Nobel Women’s Initiative were chosen out of 1,000 applications by the NoVo Foundation to receive funding from their Radical Hope Fund in 2018.

In March 2018 the Global Greengrants Fund published the first ever benchmarking report looking at philanthropic funding in support of women and the environment.

On March 14, 2018 as a part of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Channel grantee Women Enabled International (WEI) officially launched their accountABILITY Toolkit.

Just in time for International Women’s Day, March 8, 2018, Channel grantee partner World Pulse released their first mobile app along with a newly redesigned website.

Women in Foreign Policy recently spotlighted two remarkable founders of Channel grantee partners in their online series on women with disabilities working in a variety of international fields.

On January 16th, 2018, Channel grantees Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR) and Conectas Human Rights launched the 26th edition of Sur-International Journal on Human Rights.

“What could take the impact of young feminist organizing to a whole new level?” FRIDA’s answer is: Money, AND the skills to mobilize it.

Over one hundred women’s human rights advocates and donors gathered in Colombo, Sri Lanka Oct. 24, 2017 to celebrate the launch of Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights Asia & Pacific (UAF-AP), the newest sister fund

On August 21, 2017 Chile’s Constitutional Court voted in favor of lifting the total ban on abortion in the country.  With this shift, Chile will no longer be considered one of the most restrictive countries

Within weeks of each other in the summer of 2017, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia all closed legal loopholes allowing rapists to escape criminal convictions by marrying the survivor. It’s a huge victory for feminists in the region

In March 2017 Mobility International USA (MIUSA) united 20 women with disabilities from 10 regions of Panama

Cultural Survival Quarterly profiles a March 2017 professional capacity building workshop they organized for indigenous women community radio broadcasters in Central America

Channel grantee partner JASS/Just Associates has launched a new online learning platform, We Rise: Movement Building Reimagined!

Leading advocates and women’s rights donors agree that much more can and needs to be done to include women with disabilities

Channel grantee partner the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) launched a report on Oct. 20, 2016, 

Three Channel partners – the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI), and International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) –

The Denmark-based LIVIA Foundation granted Channel grantee partner the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) one of its three Awards in 2016.

On May 2, 2016, President and Founder of Channel partner Women Enabled International,

On March 8, 2016, International Women’s Day, Channel grantee partner Women Enabled International,

Indigenous women community radio journalists from several Central American countries

In November 2015 Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, Founder of Channel grantee partner, the Afghan Institute for Learning (AIL), won the 2015 WISE Prize for Education,

In October 2015 Channel grantee partner the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) launched their Better Peace Tool,

In October 2015, a new independent Global Study on the Implementation of United National Security Council Resolution 1325, “Preventing Conflict, Transforming Justice, Securing the Peace: The Future of Women, Peace, and Security,” was launched at the United Nations.

In August 2015, Channel grantee partner Women Enabled international (WEI) launched a survey to help create a first-ever map and report of the field of advocates